Twitter running Chinese-backed ads against Hong Kong protesters

The government-backed Xinhua news agency has been paying Twitter to promote its tweets, which say the protesters are "escalating violence" and calls for "order to be restored."

The protests began as opposition to a bill proposed by the Hong Kong government, which would have allowed the extradition of criminals incarcerated in Hong Kong to China. While the bill was suspended on June 15, pro-democracy demonstrations have continued.

Social bookmarking site Pinboard highlighted the ads, tweeting that Twitter is "taking money from Chinese propaganda outfits and running promoted ads against top Hong Kong protest hashtags."

Every day I go out and see stuff with my own eyes, and then I go to report it on Twitter and see promoted tweets saying the opposite of what I saw. Twitter is taking money from Chinese propaganda outfits and running these promoted tweets against the top Hong Kong protest hashtags pic.twitter.com/6Wb0Km6GOb

The revelations put Twitter, which is one of many websites banned in mainland China, in a dilemma. Running the ads is going to look bad for the company in most people’s eyes, but the platform could face a backlash from free-speech supporters if it is seen to be blocking ads from a major publication, even one that is considered a Chinese government mouthpiece.

Both Twitter and Facebook have been fighting Russian electoral interference and propaganda on their respective platforms for several years now, and while the ads aren’t as subtle, it could open the site up to claims of hypocrisy, especially with it being paid to show them.

Twitter, like all the other major social media platforms are in the business of selling ad space. That is their product, who ever spends the most on the product has a lot on influence in what the company does. And that only changes when those ads affect selling more ads.